Ashtanga Yoga is the eight-folded path of yoga. It is a
specific yoga tradition, but at the same time Ashtanga Yoga can be seen as
covering all aspects of yoga within any yoga tradition.
The ultimate purpose of the Ashtanga practice is
purification of the body and mind. By moving so quickly and powerfully, you
will get a lot of tapas and everything extra, physical and mental, will have to
get out the way. This practice has a strong sense of purpose and you are forced
to focus and grow.
Yoga is a Sanskrit word that means both union and
concentration. Its practice aims our bodies, breath, nervous system and mind in
a coherent direction to create a state of health, vitality, calmness, clarity
and insight in the practitioner. This is accomplished through practicing yoga
postures in conjunction with regulated breathing and concentration, in a
technique called vinyasa.
Ashtanga Yoga is often called Patanjali Yoga, referring to
Maharishi Patanjali, the ancient author of the famous Patanjali yoga sutras
that describe Ashtanga Yoga. Historians place the writing of these scriptures
at around 200 B.C., but the original is probably thousands of years older. These
teachings belong to an oral tradition, passed on unchanged by memorisation of
the verses in which their wisdom was captured. More recently (15th century) the
term Raja Yoga is also often used instead of Ashtanga Yoga, meaning "royal
yoga".
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